How the Death of SPEED Channel Saved Motorsports TV

As much as I hated the NASCAR-centric spin that dominated the final decade of SPEED's programming, at least the Fox-owned cable network managed to provide racing fans with enough road racing content to interrupt the 134 different stock car shows that pummeled the senses.

Even with its unabashed devotion to one sanctioning body, SPEED — at its peak — served up enough Formula 1, ALMS, Grand-Am, World Challenge, and niche international series like Australia's V8 Supercars and Germany's DTM to easily fill one's DVR. For most series that fell outside NASCAR's domain in North America, SPEED was the closest thing enthusiasts had to one-stop shopping.

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Once the winding down process began for SPEED as FOX announced its intentions to convert SPEED into FOX Sports 1, a splintering effect took place. NASCAR coverage dominated everything since it was sticking around with the switch. But, other than that, F1 bolted, the ALMS left, and many of the smaller series simply fell off the dial. It made for a confusing and disjointed period where finding some of SPEED's staples became a challenge. With time, and with the two-year anniversary of SPEED's demise right around the corner, most of the convenience and variety that was lost with SPEED has been recovered.

Between them, NBCSN has gone all-in with motor racing and is winning the war with diversity and its volume of programming. Even its recent acquisition and airing of NASCAR content has been welcome; with the other series it covers, NBCSN now provides the kind of balanced approach to motorsports that SPEED lacked. Formula 1, IndyCar, Indy Lites, and Global Rallycross races can be found on NBCSN, and for the bigger series, practice and qualifying sessions are also aired. Open-wheel, for the most part, lives on NBCSN.

FS1 bears the legacy of SPEED's devotion to NASCAR, and in another continuation, they also host top-tier series like the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, World Endurance Championship, the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, and added the new FIA Formula E series. The most popular domestic and international forms of sports car racing can be found on FS1. (You can also get your fix for Monster Trucks, too.)

If there's a downside to SPEED becoming FS1, it's the conversion of FOX's cable channel Fuel into FS2. With a second-tier outlet for its less profitable motor racing content, FS2, which few people have, has become a dumping ground for IMSA, the WEC, and significant stretches of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona. It's become standard practice for fans to sit down and start a long sports car race on FS1 and have it migrate to the mythical cable unicorn known as FS2. In those instances, turning to the web — or a series' official app — can be the only solution to finish what you started.

The third member of the cable motor racing revolution is the upstart CBS Sports Network, and they've gone from complete insignificance to holding the keys to some stellar programming in less than a year. SCCA's Pirelli World Challenge series bounced around the dial after SPEED sank, but they've since become a headlining racing property for CBSSN. For those who love the international series, the biggest treats on CBSSN can be found with same-day (or same-week) coverage of championships that SPEED pushed to a binge-watching format in November and December.

While catching an entire season of the British Touring Car Championship at Christmas was a fun way to spend the holidays, CBSSN delivers the BTCC, DTM, V8 Supercars, and the Blancpain Sprint Series with little or no delay. We knew the smaller series would likely go dark on American television once SPEED disappeared, and thanks to CBSSN, the cool series from Down Under and across the pond haven't been forgotten.

In an interesting coincidence, SPEED's pending format change was mirrored by ESPN's gradual move away from motorsports programming. It shed series after series, and after losing NASCAR to NBCSN, the ABC-owned cable channel is one series away from purging motor racing from its programming.

Digital content has also thrived in SPEED's absence. SPEED.com set the stage with live streaming for select road racing properties, and the trend has continued as cable outlets—and racing series—regularly air live content on their websites.

A visit to IndyCar.com last Saturday brought practice at the Milwaukee Mile to my laptop, and by Sunday morning, the 2h40m TUDOR Championship race from Mosport was playing on IMSA.com—with audio commentary from the Radio Le Mans team. The World Endurance Championship offers a digital pay service that, to be honest, is far better than the cut-down version that airs on FS1/FS2, and if racing continues heading in its current direction, increasing levels of digital viewing could become the norm.

For now, motorsports has settled into a happy rhythm on three cable outlets, and with multi-year contracts in place for most of the series they present, stability — across the airwaves or via the Internet — appears to be firmly established.

"As one of the few people who worked at SPEED and then moved to the NBC Sports Group, I was also wondering what was going to happen to motor sport coverage," said Leigh Diffey, who leads most of NBCSN's racing coverage. "In the early days when I came here, we didn't know if we were going to get NASCAR, and with it now, we can legitimately say we've become the home for motor sport.

"We'll be the one broadcaster to crown the champions this year for NASCAR, Formula 1, and IndyCar, which is simply amazing. It took a while for everything to settle out, but now it can all be found here and at some other channels. It was a bit shaky after SPEED ended, but I'd say the sport is in a really good place today on cable."